This coming Saturday, Jose Aldo puts his belt on the line against Chad Mendes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Aldo remains the UFC’s only Brazilian champion as he heads into this bout.
In a recent interview, Anderson Silva mentioned that there are less UFC champions from Brazil because they’ve failed to evolve. Although Aldo has continued to win, many have questioned if he has progressed since he was in the WEC. His urgency in his fights have not seemed the same since he was that hungry young fighter making a name for himself.
Every UFC champion has a college wrestling background except for Aldo and American Anthony Pettis. UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes that NCAA Division 1 wrestler’s have a work ethic and training regiment that is second to none in MMA. Rogan stated that wrestling is the best foundation for an MMA fighter because they can use it to dictate where the fight takes place.
Aldo’s roots include Brazilian jiu-jitsu and, surprisingly, soccer. He has excellent takedown defense and previous fights against fighters like Mendes and Ricardo Llamas have shown that he can stay on his feet against elite MMA wrestlers. Aldo’s footwork and kicks show that his soccer background has been an excellent asset to his fighting career.
Between 2003 and 2007, Brazilian fight camp Chutebox possessed a stable of fighters feared around the world. Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, and Shogun Rua set the tone for mixed martial arts at that time; mixing Muay Thai with lethal Brazilian jiu-jitsu to win multiple world championships. Aldo has shown some of the best Muay Thai in the game right now and his ground game is also very dominant. Wrestlers do dominate the current crop of UFC champions, but it is each fighter’s individual abilities that makes the difference.
Really young fighters such as Rory MacDonald and Max Holloway have been able to train MMA during their teen years and have dedicated their training to multiple styles of fighting. Some consider this the “new breed” of fighters, but still a work in progress nonetheless.
As Aldo steps in the ring this Saturday, he has the pride of Brazil and the legacy of his coaches to defend as he fights a very hungry Chad Mendes for the second time.
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